Cricket Australia facing war with own players over video game image

Cricket Australia is facing the prospect of an ugly legal saga with its own players after their appearance in a video game sparked a furore.

Cricket Australia is facing the prospect of a legal stand-off with its players over an alleged breach of contractual rights regarding a recently-released video game.

According to Code Sports’ Robert Craddock, a video game called WorldCricket20 within the Real Cricket app has raised concerns over its alleged acquisition of the players’ images by Indian company Nautilus Mobile.

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The report states the Australian Cricketers Association (ACA) signed over the Names, Images and Likeness (NIL) rights to star Australian players including Test captain Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Marsh, Josh Hazlewood, Matt Wade, Adam Zampa and Tim David.

It is understood the issue stems from the fact the players didn’t approve or give permission for their NIL to be used in the game.

There is no suggestion that the players themselves were involved in the deal or have engaged in any breach of contract.

A Code Sports investigation found the Australian and New Zealand cricket boards have deemed the players’ images cannot be obtained by a third party without written permission.

The situation in Australia appears headed towards mediation, with new Cricket Australia CEO Todd Greenberg in an tricky predicament.

Greenberg was the boss of the ACA when the video game issue first sparked concerns last year, and he has since moved over to Cricket Australia, replacing Nick Hockley as CEO.

A screenshot from the RealCricket game.

The situation has escalated over in New Zealand, with New Zealand Cricket taking legal action against their players because the Real Cricket app clashes with a digital game developed in India which their board had sold the NIL rights to.

That Dream XI game raised more than $20m for New Zealand Cricket, almost half of which went to the players.

Heath Mills, the boss of the New Zealand Players Association, is also head of the World Cricketers Association, which was behind the Real Cricket game move.

Further complicating matters is the fact Mills is also a recent director of investment company Winners Alliance, which is backing Real Cricket.

Pat Cummins is among the Australian players featured in the game. (Photo by DAVID GRAY / AFP)

Mitchell Starc (Photo by Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images)

Code Sports said Cricket Australia declined to comment, but CA has contacted the World Cricketers Assocation and Winners Alliance, who had claimed to be authorised to licence NIL rights for Australian players, demanding they cease using them immediately.

But CA’s efforts appear to have been in vain, with the Real Cricket App still featuring a full team of current Australian players.

The Real Cricket Graphics depict players like Marsh, Starc and David fairly accurately, but Travis Head is nearly unrecognisable and Wade looks more like a young Ange Postecoglou in the Australian team line-up in the game.

Real Cricket, is an app game pitching itself as a more modern day version of Stick Cricket, a mobile game beloved by many cricket fans.

A description of Real Cricket its YouTube channel reads: “With simple, intuitive swipe controls, you can experience the intensity of cricket like never before.

The RealCricket . Image: Supplied

“Whether you’re smashing boundaries or playing a textbook cover drive, every moment is easy to control but hard to master.”

Meanwhile, Australia’s Pat Cummins and Meg Lanning and England’s Ben Stokes and Heather Knight feature on the cover of the CA-approved console game Cricket24 designed for PlayStation and Xbox.

Earlier this month, NRL CEO Andrew Abdo revealed plans to release an official rugby league video game later this year — an announcement that delighted footy fans.